Topics - Wilbur

So I was sputtering when I saw that Trump had put "amnesty" on the table. But after I calmed down a bit I wondered if maybe Trump was painting the Democrats into a corner much like he did on the shutdown. Let's face it, these guys are politicians and he's been navigating the NY Real Estate market with all the people there is a lot tougher in my mind.

So then after seeing the Democrats still screaming racism and thinking they just look like utter fools for complaining about what they wanted I started wondering if Trump was ahead of them again. And then I saw this article on the whole thing:

I feel a bit better. Not completely convinced yet but I can see this working to some degree. And if he ends chain migration and the visa lottery system that could be a good thing. And I wasn't aware of what the 12 year path meant but if that comes with "hey, you're out" for any f-ups, I like that idea. And over 12 years it seems to me it will weed out the dirtbag's.

My wife and I will be building a garage with an apartment over it for my FIL to move into. I have sketched some ideas but I want an architect to do the plans. But I'm thinking I can save some time and (hopefully) $ by using a basic software system as a starting place.

With all the building I've seen done here I'm wondering if anyone can point me to a decent software package for this?

Thanks.

Ps been a rough few weeks here for all of us. Sorry I haven't been around much. Hope everyone's doing well!

Hundreds and hundreds of small boats pulled by countless pickups and SUVs from across the South are headed for Houston. Almost all of them driven by men. They're using their own property, sacrificing their own time, spending their own money, and risking their own lives for one reason: to help total strangers in desperate need.

Most of them are by themselves. Most are dressed like the redneck duck hunters and bass fisherman they are. Many are veterans. Most are wearing well-used gimme-hats, t-shirts, and jeans; and there's a preponderance of camo. Most are probably gun owners, and most probably voted for Trump.

These are the people the Left loves to hate, the ones Rachael Maddow mocks. The ones Maher and Olbermann just *know* they're so much better than.

These are The Quiet Ones. They don't wear masks and tear down statues. They don't, as a rule, march and demonstrate. And most have probably never been in a Whole Foods store

But they'll spend the next several days wading in cold, dirty water; dodging gators and water moccasins and fire ants; eating whatever meager rations are available; and sleeping wherever they can in dirty, damp clothes. Their reward is the tears and the hugs and the smiles from the terrified people they help. They'll deliver one boatload, and then go back for more.

When disaster strikes, it's what men do. Real men. Heroic men. American men. And then they'll knock back a few shots, or a few beers with like-minded men they've never met before, and talk about fish, or ten-point bucks, or the benefits of hollow-point ammo, or their road-worn Ford F-150 pick-up. They'll likely be up again before dawn to do it all again until more of the helpless are rescued and all the work's done.

And the next time they hear someone talk about "the patriarchy", or "male privilege", they'll snort, turn off the TV and go to bed.

They're unlikely to be reimbursed. There won't be medals. They won't care. They're heroes. And it's what heroes do.

September 5th marked the 35th anniversary of the death of Sir Douglas Bader and I couldn?t let it pass without this story about the RAF hero. He was giving a talk to an upmarket girl?s school about his time as a pilot in the Second World War. ?So there were two of the f***ers behind me, three f***ers to my right, another f***er on the left,? he told the audience. The headmistress went pale and interjected: ?Ladies the Fokker was a German aircraft.? Sir Douglas replied: ?That may be, madam, but these f***ers were in Messerschmitts.?

Not sure the best location for this thread but this story was pretty interesting about the simplicity of an alternative heat source for hot water, in this case for a shower. But I also think this could easily be adopted for hot water for a cabin, a shop or any off grid method. I think with more piping it could be used as a type of radiant heat source for a building although that woukd abviously require more piping and is a different system. Plus you would need to "shut it off" during the summer.

This is really simple- hook a water source through a hose to plastic piping that gets run in a serpentine fashion through a compost "pile". In this case it's about 8' x 5'. The guy in the article starts it with a pickup truck load of wood chips and another of sawdust. Obviously any yard scraps would work- grass clippings, hay, food waste etc.

Surprisingly this guy uses it to heat water for a hostel for 10 ppl a day so if this is for an off-grid cabin or BO location that would give you plenty of water for a variety of sources beyond just showers. It gets hot enough for him (120 to 150 degrees) that he needs to mix cold water with it.

Like a lot of these things you may not do exactly what this guy did but it might stimulate you to come up with a version that works for you. Oh....and always....YMMV ha!

I have never been to Mexico. Have no real desire to go. I remember hearing a number of years ago about a couple from our town who went to Cancun at the same time I went to FL. This was late fall end of hurricane season....a hurricane came across the Carribean/Gulf and hit the Yucatan and then came straight back across the gulf and hit FL where I was (which I guess is par for the course for late season hurricanes).

I was safe in the hotel I was at (it was the hurricane evacuation location for the area) while they were evacuated to a school with 500 other people and were all in a HS gym with a white bucket in the corner for a bathroom. But they were "happy" because the HS was surrounded by a fence with barbed wire so the roaming gangs couldn't get in while people at other resorts had been evacuated to places that did not have the protection of a fence and ended up getting robbed etc by the gangs. Point being a resort is nice but you are still in a 3rd world he**-hole when you leave it.

But then I read this article which just confirmed for me that there are risks beyond just hurricanes etc. Figured I should post it as a cautionary item....maybe its overly dramatic I don't know. But scary stuff...

Saw this last night with the wife. After putting Nica down last week I checked to make sure this one didn't end up with the dog dying in it (sorry for the spoiler) or something that would have just set the wife off all over again, but when I saw that it didn't I thought it might be good to see. And it was. You guys know better than me if they did a good job showing the parts in Iraq so I wont try to make any claims to its accuracy on that front but it was great seeing the bond that developed between them, and that I believe would be accurate. Good movie. I liked it. We just had a hard time finding it....only 1 theatre near us had it and at 10:30 PM unfortunately.

So I'm looking at trucks (want a Duramax) and while I usually will price them at GMC.COM so I can make them just the way I want, I also look at what dealers have already in stock as that may be a cheaper way to get one if a dealer has one they cant move or whatever. Some times they have what I want, some times they don't. So I was comparing what I would need to buy if I wanted to add (say) the plow package to a truck that didn't have it (I also look at this because it bugs me I cant get a sliding rear window with the plow package unless I get a Denali which I don't want to pay for). And I also thought okay....what if I find a 3/4 ton that has everything I needed but I wanted to upgrade it to a 1 ton what would that entail....so I was comparing part numbers at gmpartsonline.com and other sites and was surprised to see there were no differences between the rear springs in the 3/4 ton and the 1 ton. Do I have that right? I knew the driveline was the same but I figured the springs would be different for the 3500 v. the 2500 but the front torsion bars and the rear springs seem to be the exact same ones? Am I missing something?

So my Dad died a year ago. Cancer took him but at 84 he had lived a good life. Still difficult to lose your Dad and especially hard to see him at the end and what the cancer had done to him.

My MIL has been handicapped for years, she had a growth of blood vessels that unfortunately for her was in her spine at the base of her neck. Anywhere else and Dr.'s could have just cut it out. But the location prevented them from truly helping her although she had some revolutionary surgeries which did help. But the slow march of time as the AVM impinged on her nerves caused paralysis on her right side, and that slowly spread throughout her body.

Then a few years ago she got dementia and while she never got to the stage of truly not knowing who was around her, it was a challenge and many times left my wife in tears. Her past two years have been in a nursing home under constant care and ultimately she has been bedridden for the past 6 months or so. About three weeks ago my wife got a call that she was spitting up some blood and the nursing home didn't know what was causing it and wanted her sent to the ER. They did that and my wife met them at the ER (her father was there as well as he spent every day at the nursing home with his wife).

Sadly the Doc's knew she had internal bleeding but also knew she would not survive an operation to try to stop it and she died there with my wife and FIL at her side. While we knew the long term prognosis was not a good one, it all happened so quickly it shocked everyone a bit. We had the funeral and it was really sad. This was a beautiful tall elegant woman who loved to dance, was super bright and the diseases she contracted left her just a shell. But I was also glad we avoided the long term effects of the dementia and where that can lead. Her funeral was 2-1/2 weeks ago.

About a week ago I was working at a client site and got a call that Nica (our GSD) couldn't get up. My son had to help her as her back legs wouldn't work. He helped her up but they were crossing etc. The vet was closing so we brought her to a local vet school ER. There they went down the road of DM (Degenerative Myelopathy which is a genetic mutation in some breeds including GSD's that causes the nerves in the spine to die due to inflammation). We had blood drawn and sent off to a lab for testing. We followed up the next day with our vet. (I also had contacted our breeder who said that DM is almost never found in East German shepherds and has never been in her bloodlines- but I do think it makes sense to err on the side of caution with a breeder even though I really like this one).

Our vet did not feel it was DM as it was not symmetrical (her right leg was worse than her left). They felt it was a disk related issue such as a slipped disk or some other disk issue. They took x-rays but it didn't show them a lot- they could definitely see signs of growth on her vertebrae but that was her body trying to "strengthen" the areas, and there was nothing that jumped out at them as being the cause of the paralysis. They had us go to a neurologist for a MRI to get a definitive diagnosis and determination of what could be done.

So yesterday was the MRI. Well the results were not what we had hoped....she has cancer in her spine and more than one growth. The cancer has grown up into her spinal column and is pressing the on the nerves causing the paralysis. She referred us to a oncologist but I don't believe that is in the cards. She is 12 and to go to extraordinary measures for maybe an additional 6 months just doesn't make sense to me. Plus the pain and recovery for her.

This is my wife's first dog and has been her constant companion at home. Every day she went with her on walks. She has been to the beach, mountain climbing, camping, hiking, going to soccer and lacrosse games. When strangers came to the house Nica was right there watching intently and keeping her "family" safe. (We have a command of "place" where she has to be in contact with her mat. She can be standing or sitting or whatever as long as she is touching the mat. But it is also a very easy "release" should that be necessary. Not that she has been attack trained or anything but her presence is just helpful when the odd delivery guy shows up or whatever). She has definitely been our furry four legged child.

Last night my wife spent a lot of time with Nica and after she was just sobbing. She said Nica is "gone" and the dog that would look at you with eyes saying "lets go outside" "lets go play" etc. has been replaced by a sad, old dog who lays there with her head on her forelegs. So hard to see. I was sort of "at this point" a few days ago but my wife seemed to come to the realization last night that prolonging this just to try to help is not the right course of action. The neurologist had given us prednisone to see if that helps reduce the inflammation and helps. But it does not appear to have done anything. Our oldest is coming home this weekend and I think we will need to say our goodbyes. It really sucks. And coming so closely on top of my MIL's passing its just all that much harder, especially for my wife.

But I want to remember Nica as she was. A couple of years ago we went on a camping trip in the White Mountains of NH. We were at the top of Mount Washington by the cog railway when I grabbed this shot of her. THIS is Nica, not the poor tired broken dog we see right now.

So as I posted a while ago my Mother In Law passed away a week and a half ago. We had the wake Friday night and funeral yesterday. In talking to people and then something that occurred at the funeral and graveside I just had to comment on it.

I know a lot of people say that they don't believe in God because they "don't have proof". As much as that is what faith is about (believing in the existence of something you can't see or touch) they choose to draw a line there. I get that at one level but then have to look beyond that and see what else we see? Is it all truly random? And what are the odds of certain coincidences being purely random?

As background my mother in law was paralyzed on her right side. For years she walked with a cane, then a walker, finally a wheelchair and then eventually she was bedridden as the paralysis soread. This was an awful thing and led to her premature death at 76. She was a tall woman (5'10") who loved to dance and auditioned for many shows in Boston, so this paralysis was heartbreaking for her.

In those later years when she was bedridden it was really awful for her, and her family as her body continued to shut down, depriving her of movement. Add dementia to that which only made it worse for everyone. When she passed she was a completely broken woman and it was truly sad to see.

I belI've there were a number of things that occurred the day before her death through yesterday's funeral that told all of us that she was okay and in a better place. But we have to be willing to see them. When I list all the items, I will leave it to you to decide.

The day before she passed (and mind you she was sick as described, but nothing extraordinary, nothing to indicate she would pass quickly) my father in law had a dream or "heard her" say (but not from talking to her) that she wanted to go home. She had been living in a nursing home for the previous two years.

My wife had a dream that night where her mother was clear of mind and said to my wife she wanted "to go". My wife told me in the morning after she had it and neither of us knew what the day would bring.

That afternoon my wife got a call that she was not doing well and needed to be taken to the hospital where she would pass a few hours later.

My wife's cousin had a dream that night after hearing of her aunt's passing, that she was running in a garden. She told me it was the most vivid dream she had ever had and it woke her out of a sound sleep.

My brother in law and his girlfriend were driving up that weekend to be with us. They each had a Diet Coke. His girlfriend remarked she was having a drink with "Frank" or something (Diet Coke and Coke have a campaign where they put random names on cans and bottles). She asked my brother in law who he was having a drink with. He said "I don't know lemme see....." and he turned the bottle to see his mother's name on the bottle.

Then at the funeral one of the readings was done by my MIL's god-daughter and close cousin of my wife. As she stepped up the two small stairs into the sanctuary her right shoe came off. She stopped and slipped it back on and did the reading. My MIL, due to her paralysis, would always lose a shoe. And it was always her right one.

At the graveside after the priest said a few words family members were invited to place a flower on my MIL's urn (she was cremated). One girl walked up to place a flower. As she bent down to place the flower, she lost her shoe. Her right shoe. The girl? The daughter of my wife's cousin who had done the reading and also lost her shoe.

I don't know how you calculate the "odds" for these things occurring, and I get that some out there might chalk it all up to random. But not me. For me these were signs that my MIL IS in a better place and her broken body and mind ARE healed, and she was telling us that, and telling us she is still with us, albeit in a different way and form.

It's about time. Nice to have a POTUS empower the military to get the job done. I'm not na?ve that it will be easy, quick or risk free. But I like this approach a LOT better than the previous guy in the WH approach.

I heard an interesting point this AM about the whole Russia Trump collusion BS. As you know the liberals are now screaming that Trump's Son In Law Jared Kushner tried in December to set up "back channel" communications between the WH and the Kremlin. But if that was the case, then doesn't that by definition prove there was no collusion between the Russians and Trump? If Trump and the Russians colluded during the campaign and election then the "back channels" of communication would have already existed.

We all know the drill....a swastika is painted on a church and immediately white men (and recently white Trump supporters) are blamed. After a few weeks or months of investigation we find out it was a minority/a liberal/ etc. who actually did it. Of course there is usually little coverage of who actually did it and some media organizations actually refuse to set the record straight because they claim that these things do happen so don't want to "confuse" people or minimize the times it actually happens. Unreal.

This is a pretty good site to verify who actually committed these fake hate crimes. Just figured I would pass it on. Good reference to have to blast back at the crazy liberals who fall for this nonsense hook, line and sinker.

So this is a comment on Ridgid Tools of which I own none....weird right? Actually I think I own a Ridgid template for door hinges, but that's not really a tool as much as its an extruded plastic gauge.

Anyhoo.....I bought a DeWalt Cordless Impact Wrench (not impact Driver...an impact for lug nuts etc.). I wanted the 20V but the 18V was on sale and I'm not running a NASCAR crew so figured the 18v would be fine (and it is). But I only had the one battery that came with it. Then I misplaced the charger (don't ask.... ). So over the weekend I went to HD to another battery and charger so I could always have one charged up. To buy a battery and charger they wanted $170....hmmm.....I don't think so. I looked around and sure enough...18v Impact Driver for $99....oh and it came with 2 batteries, charger and a bag. Done. (If you're following along here you obviously see how this thread is ALL about Ridgid right? ).

Anyway....just as I'm set to go to checkout a HD guy comes up and asks me if I am all set. I tell him what I am getting, and kind of laughingly say I'd rather spend $99 on the driver, 2 batteries, charger and bag than $170 on a battery and charger. He laughs and agrees. He then tells me he only buys Ridgid because they have a lifetime warranty which also includes the batteries. He said he has never had to buy a battery because when they go he just ships them back to Ridgid and they replace them. I had no idea their warranty covered everything....forever.

I'm a fan of DeWalt and Milwaukee stuff but this has me re-thinking things for future purchases. I just figured I would pass that on. And of course....last night I found the charger I misplaced. But now I can always have 2 batteries in chargers if I need to.

The actor who played Jack OCALLAHAN in the movie Miracle about the 1980 US defeat of the Russians in the Olympics took his own life. When. I first read about it I only knew that he had taken his life and that was sad. I loved the movie and the real story even more so. There were a bunch of Boston ties so it was big here.

But then I found out he had gone in the Army....and now even more. He was a Green Beret. Just so sad.

Got this in a chain email and while I have to wonder if its true (I'm guessing much of it is BS but it still made me laugh) I thought of Don and had to share it....

Remember it takes a college degree to fly a plane, but only a high school diploma to fix one; a reassurance to those of us who fly.

After every flight, UPS pilots fill out a form, called a 'gripe sheet,' which tells mechanics about problems with the aircraft. The mechanics correct the problems, document their repairs on the form, and then pilots review the gripe sheets before the next flight.

Never let it be said that ground crews lack a sense of humor. Here are some actual maintenance complaints submitted by UPS pilots (marked with a P) and the solutions recorded (marked with an S) by maintenance engineers.

P: Left inside main tire almost needs replacement. S: Almost replaced left inside main tire.

The two most important events in all of history were the invention of beer and the invention of the wheel. Beer required grain, and that was the beginning of agriculture. Neither the glass bottle nor the aluminum can were invented yet, so while the early humans were sitting around waiting for them to be invented, they just stayed close to the brewery. That's how villages were formed.

The wheel was invented to get man to the beer and vice versa. These two inventions were the foundation of modern civilization and together were the catalyst for the splitting of humanity into two distinct subgroups:1. Liberals2. Conservatives

Some men spent their days tracking and killing animals to Bar-B-Que at night while they were drinking beer. This was the beginning of what is known as the Conservative Movement.

Other men who were less skilled at hunting (called ?vegetarians?, an early word meaning ?bad hunters?) learned to live off the conservatives by showing up for the nightly Bar-B-Que's and doing the sewing, fetching, and hairdressing. This was the beginning of the Liberal Movement.

Some of these liberal men evolved into women. Others became known as girlie-men. Some noteworthy liberal achievements include the domestication of cats, the invention of group therapy, group hugs, and the concept of democratic voting to decide how to divide the meat and the beer that the conservatives provided.

Over the years, conservatives came to be symbolized as the largest, most powerful land animal on earth, the elephant. The liberals came to be symbolized by the jackass they are, for obvious reasons. Modern liberals like 'lite' beer (with lime added), but most prefer white wine or imported bottled water. They eat raw fish but like their beef well done. Sushi, tofu, and French food are standard liberal fare. Another interesting evolutionary side note: many liberal women have higher testosterone levels than their men.

Most college professors, social workers, personal injury attorneys, journalists, film makers in Hollywood, group therapists, and community organizers are liberals. Liberals meddled in our national pastime and invented the designated hitter rule because it wasn't fair to make the pitcher work extra hard as to go to bat.

Conservatives drink real beer. They eat red meat and still provide for their women. Conservatives are members of the military, big game hunters, rodeo cowboys, lumberjacks, construction workers, firemen, medical doctors, police officers, engineers, corporate executives, athletes, airline pilots, and generally anyone who works productively at whatever they set out to do. Conservatives who own companies hire other conservatives who actually want to work for a living.

Liberals produce little or nothing. They like to govern the producers and decide what to do with the production. Liberals believe Europeans are more enlightened than Americans. That is why most of the liberals remained in Europe when conservatives were coming to America; they crept in after the Wild West was tamed and created a big business of trying to get more for nothing.

I wasn't sure where to put this but hopefully this makes sense. If you've ever used a Daredevl lure you might find how they got their name interesting...

The Eppinger Tradition began in 1906. Lou Eppinger spent a month in the Ontario wilderness, fishing, camping and thinking?.all alone. He used a lure of his own design?a spoon weighing 2 ounces. The metal was hammered out so that it was thinner in the middle and thicker toward the edges.

When he cast it into the shallows it would swing from side to side, nearly turning over, but always righting itself?kind of like a Dardevle.

By 1912, Lou turned his prototype into a finished lure, the Osprey. It caught fish; lots and lots of them. Especially pike, a favorite sport fish in the Midwest.

In 1918, Lou?s nephew Ed came to work in his uncle?s shop. They changed the name of the Osprey to Dardevle after the ?Teufelhunden,? or ?Devil Dogs,? the name given by the Germans to the 4th Marine Brigade- which successfully penetrated and captured the Germans in battle of Belleau Woods in 1918. The Allies called these US Marines ?Dare Devils,? the name now used for Eppinger?s most successful line of lures.

I am not big for chain emails. But I get them from a few folks who seem to just forward every single thing they get. But every now and then one comes in that is worth it. Wheat and chaff I guess. Anyway....wanted to pass this one along.

Thank you Lord

WHAT HAPPENS IN HEAVEN WHEN WE PRAY?

I dreamt that I went to Heaven and an angel was showing me around. We walked side-by-side inside a large workroom filled with angels. My angel guide stopped in front of the first section and said, "This is the Receiving Section. Here, all petitions to God said in prayer are received."

I looked around in this area, and it was terribly busy with so many angels sorting out petitions written on voluminous paper sheets and scraps from people all over the world.

Then we moved on down a long corridor until we reached the second section.

The angel then said to me, "This is the Packaging and Delivery Section. Here, the graces and blessings the people asked for are processed and delivered to the living persons who asked for them." I noticed again how busy it was there. There were many angels working hard at that station, since so many blessings had been requested and were being packaged for delivery to Earth.

Finally, at the farthest end of the long corridor we stopped at the door of a very small station. To my great surprise, only one angel was seated there, idly doing nothing. "This is the Acknowledgment Section," my angel friend quietly admitted to me. He seemed embarrassed.

"How is it that there is no work going on here?" I asked.

"So sad," the angel sighed. "After people receive the blessings that they asked for, very few send back acknowledgments."

"How does one acknowledge God's blessings? "I asked.

"Simple," the angel answered. Just say, "Thank you, Lord."

"What blessings should they acknowledge?" I asked.

"If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep, you are richer than 75% of this world. If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish, you are among the top 8% of the world's wealthy, and if you get this on your own computer, you are part of the 1% in the world who has that opportunity."

"If you woke up this morning with more health than illness.. You are more blessed than the many who will not even survive this day."

"If you have never experienced the fear in battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation... You are ahead of 700 million people in the world."

"If you can attend a church without the fear of harassment, arrest, torture or death you are envied by, and more blessed than, three billion people in the world."

"If you can hold your head up and smile, you are not the norm, you're unique to all those in doubt and despair......."

"Ok," I said. "What now? How can I start?"

The Angel said, "If you can read this message, you just received a double blessing in that someone was thinking of you as very special and you are more blessed than over two billion people in the world who cannot read at all."

Have a good day, count your blessings, and if you care to, pass this along to remind everyone else how blessed we all are..........

ATTN: Acknowledge Dept.

"Thank you Lord, for giving me the ability to share this message and for giving me so many wonderful people with whom to share it."

My oldest daughter sent me this article. It's written by a former fascist communist liberal (for lack of a better description! Ha). She was a liberal all her life and is now a conservative. She writes about a ton of the things we ALL see occurring on the left. But she made some points I had not considered.

Also while it is supposedly from the American Thinker website I couldn't find it there but maybe I wasn't searching correctly. I think American Thinker is a great site. It is pretty simple in how it's put together....just a series of essays on tons of different subjects. Some are pretty long, it's definitely not the sound bite style of writing. But some very articulate and thoughtful people opining on a series of subjects.

I love this woman's passion. She pulls no punches whatsoever and puts PC nonsense right in the trash where it belongs. Here's her great answer to a Muslim who asked about how Muslims were being demonized in the US. This was at a conference about Benghazi.

This is going to be a bit of a wandering thread so I apologize in advance. But I wanted to provide the background and explanation for what I'm talking about....(so you don't think I'm a complete whackjob! But maybe its too late )

So I have a decent sized garden....its about 35x50 and I have added to the soil for years so it is really rich great soil. Stuff grows like crazy. Some years the weeds have overwhelmed me even with using hay and grass clippings or something to keep them at bay, but the bottom line is there is nothing better than fresh veggies right out of the garden that end up on your plate within minutes. And it produces tons. I usually have plenty to give to neighbors- squashes, tomatoes, etc.

I posted in Stewie's thread about a video that I saw a while ago and while I have meant to put it into practice I just haven't yet- the guy uses wood chips as cover in his garden, it adds nutrients over time, keeps weeds down and also provides great water retention. It's a long video but there is no denying the guy's success with it. Here's the YouTube version of it:

I have learned a lot from it....he quotes scripture throughout the video and explains how he came to use wood chips as a cover for the garden, it makes a lot of sense.

Anywho.....so I am also a big believer in multiple lines of income.....I have been down the road of one job, one income and come to see how quickly that can change due to circumstances beyond your control. So I am looking to make sure that as I move forward I have income streams from a variety of sources. Yes I still work at my job but even that has morphed somewhat as I do consulting for a few different companies as well. But the point being that I am just darned determined never to have income only come from one place.

So I'm screwing around on YouTube last night and I come across this video:

*Just a note of caution the interviewer is kind of a nutjob wanting to "save the world" type and he also swears some so just be forewarned if you're watching it with kids around.

Hmm.....but okay.....make $100K? I'll bite....I watch it. Its an interview with a guy in Canada who "rents" yards and other places to grow greens, cherry tomatoes, etc. for farmer's markets. He also sells them to restaurants. Bottom line is he likes living in a city but wanted to grow his own vegetables etc. He didn't have enough money to buy land given city prices so he started "leasing" yards and lots from other people. He trades them vegetables that he grows for letting him use the land. And he sells the rest.

He supposedly explains the process he went through and what he does. I haven't bought it yet but its in my cart at Amazon. And I realize that while he probably gets pretty high prices because he is in a city, I am guessing almost anywhere someone could set up a small table at the end of the driveway and sell extra produce that you grow. He's got some business sense too as he explains that he focuses almost exclusively on things that he can get multiple crops per season (spinach greens, kale, arugula) or produces all season long (cherry tomatoes).

So I am going to try the table at the end of the driveway this year for my excess. I post this as it might help add some revenue to some here if you wanted to try it, or it might be a good project for kids looking to earn some coin (not many paper routes any more....). And with the sizes he's talking about its not an overwhelming thin to do on a part time basis. Do I think I'll make $100K? Nope. Not by a long shot. But if I make a little something I figure it will be worthwhile. And I will learn some.

So this Oroville Dam disaster (whether it proves to be a total disaster or just a false alarm if they "fix it" in time) makes something very clear to me.....you cant trust government to EVER EVER EVER do the right thing.

I have long been grateful that I live on top of a hill (for all intents and purposes) and don't have to worry about flooding. I live in a part of the country where we don't have much in the way of natural disasters- nor'easters...yeah we get them but we know they're coming and I have preps for that, the occasional hurricane (but I am far enough inland so by the time they get to me it would be trees coming down not my house being blown or washed away) and I also have preps for that, tornadoes? well somewhat, I am in the "mini" tornado alley from northwest CT to Eastern NY to Central MA to southern NH that "per square mile" gets as many tornadoes as the Midwest "tornado alley"...but I am east of another hill that does occasionally get slammed so I have not had to worry about that little gem.

But the bottom line is watching these people that are having to evacuate a BLEEP-load of area in CA proves to me that even if you think you're in a "nice" part of CA....rural, plenty of land, nice climate, miles from the craziness of the cities, etc etc.....you have to worry because some a-holes in government are more concerned with refugees, gay rights and liberal policies than doing the one thing that every legislator is tasked with....keeping their constituents safe! I am just so saddened to realize there could be thousands upon thousands of families (180,000 evacuees?!!!) who could lose literally EVERYTHING because the state of CA has spent $25B on refugees and illegals while only paying lip service to the tallest dam in the country?! Are you kidding me? Yeah....I know its MILES away....but you are down stream....and when the dam breaks, you're in trouble!

At a minimum this should be a wake up call to every person in the country to look around and say what is the absolute WORST that could happen in my AO.....what could totally ruin everything I have? And if that risk is too great, you might want to think about moving ((and make no mistake...this is not a lecture FROM me....it is TO me as well!). I know from a natural disaster point I am in good shape. But I worry about the laws (or lack thereof) that will be passed by the absolute nitwits that citizens here in MA send back to Boston every election cycle. I have a few more years before I can get the F out of here due to family issues......but damn I cant wait. I want what I have here weather and topography wise coupled with a legislature that understands they work for the people not the other way around. I realize that legislators can change and PDQ unfortunately but as long as I have a place that isn't physically at risk because the local lawmakers decided that spending my tax dollars on some f'd up liberal scheme made more sense than spending required infrastructure dollars on some public works project that when it fails could kill hundreds of thousands of people, then I will be in the right spot.

I will shut up now but boy this Oroville thing really has my rant filter set on "Blast". Sorry....

Okay so I will give you my review of my short (1 time) experience with my new snowshoes. I have wanted a pair for a long time as I love the winter and being out in the snow, but once the heavy stuff hits it keeps me from getting out there as much as I would like. So I?ve been reviewing my options for quite some time- looking at options from Cabelas, Amazon etc. As a novice I didn?t want to pay too much for something I might ultimately hate doing so I tried to find something when it was on sale. But I also recognized that I needed a decent sized pair?.I?m 6?1? but weight about 230 so add a pack to that and I needed a longer shoe.

At the same time, I am not looking to climb Everest in these things, nor do I live out in powder country so I figured I could ?get by? with some of the more basic versions. I also am viewing this as purely a recreational thing, not something that is a life or death situation where I would need to get the best ones I could.

So I had gotten a LLBean gift card for Christmas (Both my Mom and my Dad are/were from Maine so LLBean is a ?go too? for holidays and birthdays). I know I?ve mentioned their lifetime guarantee before in regards to hiking boots but I also felt that might come in handy with these as well should something happen to them). Anyway after Christmas their ?Winter Walker? line of shoes was on sale. I think I paid $100 for them. I also got a pair of extendable poles and a bag for them.

Based on my reading (and my size) I knew I needed the 36? version. So they came and seemed pretty good but what the heck do I know?! But yesterday I got a chance to try them out. It?s been a pretty mild winter so far but we?re getting snow now so it was perfect. I went to a local state forest and went on a 3-1/2 mile ?hike? with them. The trail is a road that was snowed over. No vehicle traffic had been on it but there was plenty of cross country skiers, other snowshoers, and regular hikers. So the trail was about ?half? broken- meaning half of it was somewhat packed down but the other half (on either side) was about a foot of fresh snow without any tracks.

I had adjusted the bindings at home- you can see from the pics there is a toe strap that criss-crosses your toe and holds it in place. There is a heel strap that wraps around your heel and is held in place with a quick release clamp against the teeth on the strap. Then there is a strap that crosses over your instep that also has a standard double blade release clip. The toe and instep strap adjust by pulling the fabric strap, while the heel strap is molded plastic with the ?teeth?.

One of the things I learned from my reading is that how the binding ?rotates? in the shoe varies by make, expense, etc. The ?best? ones seem have pins from the binding to each side of the snowshoe that the binding rotates around. Some cheaper versions have a fabric strap that twists as your foot moves up/down. The version I got has a pin system but it almost like an eye bolt. The ?eye? is then attached to the frame via a small strap.

In addition there is a crampon under the ball of your foot with teeth front and back for traction, and there is a fixed/stationary smaller crampon on the back half of the shoe. This helps with footing if the trail is icy which there is a lot of here in the east. So my walk varied from flat level ground to reasonably steep up and down grades but nothing too dramatic. I had absolutely no problem navigating any of it. It was surprisingly easy. I did have to watch my step somewhat to make sure the inner sides of the frames didn?t hit. I never fell or was in danger of that but I also didn?t have a pack on so that might change my geometry and become more of an issue. I know some of the expensive versions have adjustments to move the bindings in or out perpendicular to the shoe which would lessen the time the shoe frames hit depending on your size, gait etc.

I had plenty of flotation but again keep in mind that most of my walking was on a dirt road with a foot or so of snow. I also had no problem on a field and a small frozen pond. The few times I came to small rocky crossings etc. they were gradual enough where I never had the frames supporting me on the ends or anything. I assume they could, but honestly don?t know. I should try that to see just so I know what to expect.

I did the 3-1/2 miles in about an hour and a half and that included some stops for pictures, a couple of times to check my GPS just to make sure I was on the correct branch of the trail, or just to enjoy the quiet. I love how snow mutes all sounds and it really makes you appreciate this other season of weather so it was nice to stop and enjoy it (okay okay?.or catch my breath after a couple of the steeper parts!). Anyway?I think they are a good initial step into snowshoeing. I might never go beyond a pair like these given what I need. LLBean recommends them for trails and relatively moderate terrain, so as I said before- these are not true wilderness or back country versions.

Here?s a few pics of them I stole from the web, mine are still in the car and it?s snowing again pretty hard and I?m too lazy to go out and get them to take pics. But if anyone wants a close-up of any parts just let me know and I will get them and post ?em.

So for 100 years or so (seems like it anyway) I've been using a drip coffee maker. Had tons of different kinds from cheapo wally world versions to more expensive ones. We have a combo drip and espresso version now cause the wife loves cappuccino.

When I'm camping I use a campfire percolator and the coffee is always good and hot (drip coffee is always just sort of warm (I add cream to my 1st cup of the day then later go just black). So I've been on the lookout for a percolator. My local wally world only carries 1 version among the 649 different drips they sell and they want $50 for the darn thing....so I passed. Finally at Christmas I broke down and got one at Amazon for $35 or something....not fancy...just the old style stainless steel percolator. I'm sure if I combed the flea markets and yard sales I could have found one for $5 but I grabbed this new one. I gotta say it makes really really good coffee!

Yes the grinds (because most coffee is ground for drips so is much finer) get into it but as long as I don't pour the last 1/4" I'm okay.

I also splurged and got the Stanley french press mug (wanted to try that and while it works I don't really do the French press thing). This mug is just flat out awesome. Yeah it's spendy but it keeps coffee hot for-evah! It will also last a lifetime as its made like their traditional vacuum thermos' - all metal etc. It will literally keep a hot cup of coffee hot for 2 hours.

Loving my mornings now! Ha!

*I was going to put this in the CIEMR section but didn't know if that'd be kinda redundant

So this weekend was cold weather training for my SAR team. Not that cold as it was about 20-25 degrees or so. We hiked 2/3 of the way up a small mountain and then in a clearing we broke up into teams to build shelters. The guy I was with showed me something I had never seen before and it works like a charm, and I wanted to pass it on.

We made a "diamond" shaped shelter with my tarp/tent with three corners anchored and the last one tied to a tree. Then we had a fire a couple of feet from the opening. The tarp tent is pretty sturdy and is aluminized or something on the in-side so it reflects heat pretty well.

Well (and this is the part I was glad to learn)....he had some 3 mil plastic....just a cheapo type drop cloth plastic he grabbed at Home Depot. Well he laid that over the opening we had and got one edge held down tight....so we had a clear "flap" as an entry way. I was amazed at how warm it got inside there. The heat passed through that clear plastic so easily...and no wind loss. He had a "space blanket" on the floor of it as well and it was toasty warm in there in absolutely no time. Definitely would be a great way to shelter someone out of the wind/cold/rain and keep them warm.

Plus the plastic is cheap, you can get them at Wally World or HD/Lowes very easily. If you haven't done it (maybe you guys all knew this anyway! ) I would urge you to give it a whirl.....good for teaching kids too. Just thought I would pass that along.

This is a follow-up on the Footwear thread and I figured I would mention them as a retailer who stands behind their stuff. Now they don't make combat ready stuff per se but for basic camping stuff, hiking boots, and outdoor equipment they do a good job and more importantly they stand behind it 100% no questions asked.

I told about the hiking boots I have gone through and they have always replaced them no matter what with no question asked. But I have two other stories that I figured give a pretty good insight into the company. A friend of my Dad's had a briefcase that he had been given by his Dad. His Dad had used it for 20 or so years and then the son used it another 20 or so. And finally the handle broke. My parents mentioned they were going to be in Maine and were going to LLBean so my Dad's friend gave him the old briefcase and said see what they say. So Dad took it up there - they took it and said "we don't make this version any more but pick any one you want." Just like that.

Another one was a buddy who had one of their tents. This tent was from when we were in high school....so lets just say a "few" years ago (*ahem*35*ahem*). One of his tent poles broke. He called them and explained what happened. They sent him a label to send them tent back and he got a new one. Then just a few months ago same friend had a pair of 20 year old hunting boots. The sole started to come apart. He was going to buy new ones I said send them back to LL Bean. He called them....same thing. They sent him a new pair.

Now I get that not all their stuff is just what you may want (Lord knows I usually toss their clothes catalogs right in the trash) but for the value of their outside gear I have found them to be great. And no questions asked on replacing it. Plus their service people are really awesome. I can call them if I have a question on something and they flat out know what I am asking and how it works. I'm not getting some idjit kid who has never been outside of a mall. Just my experience.

So Koot's "Don't Try this at Home" thread mentions E85 when running on the track. I knew E85 was an ethanol somethingorother but didn't know much about it. So I googled it. And low and behold...found yet another example of our gov't acting like imbeciles....I know I know....you're as shocked and dismayed as I was....

So here's what I learned from a Road & Track article....so....it all must be true right? I read it on the interwebs....but when it comes to the "stupid govt part" I have no doubt they got it right...

E85 is approximately 85% ethanol and 15% real gas. It has higher octane at usually 100 to 105. It does provide a HP increase but it also kills gas mileage (by about 30%). Oh....Kee....Doh.....Kee.....why all the Flex Fuel Vehicles (FFV) out there if they get 30% less mileage running E85? The govt in their smugness about all things Global Warming related only counts the 15% that is real gas when calculating the fuel mileage of FFV's. So (the article used a Chevy Tahoe for their comparisons) the Chevy Tahoe which gets 20.1 mpg on gas now miraculously gets 33.3 mpg!

And the gov't set CAFE standards for fleets that they get 22.2 mpg average for light trucks (and 27.5 mpg for cars). Failure to do so leads to Michelle Obama coming to your house and cooking you dinner (and it wont be anything remotely similar to what shows up in the What You Had For Dinner thread!), all the while telling you what a horrible person you and your family is. Oh....and they fine the bejeebers out of ya too.

So GM basically gives away FFV for the same price as gas guzzling pig Tahoe's (they don't have a special shiny sticker for those however like they do the FFV ones....I guess GM's lawyers frowned on a big middle finger sticker as not being in the "spirit" of all things Global Warming) because it boosts their overall fleet mpg.

So the bottom line of all this is that GM saved about $200MM in fines (and lord knows how many Michelle Obama salads and dry toast) for selling FFV's like they do. Pretty smart of them if ya' aks me. So now I know what Koot is running in Miss Kay's sleeper and also why I keep seeing FFV's out there. Aren'cha glad I asked?

Okay so nothing as fancy as some of the stuff you guys have but I still want it to do double duty as a shed and also a place I can get some work done. It will help clearing out some stuff from the basement that is looking like an episode of hoarders. ::)

So I had designed a bunch of sheds on paper and priced them out as that way I could get exactly what I wanted. Then I priced some sheds at a local place. Sheesh I was only saving about $800 for what I could get from them. And I could have it in a couple of days as opposed to who knows how long if I had to build it. Not to mention if I screwed something up then that price difference could shrink. So I pulled the trigger.

The one I got is 12x16. They delivered it on a flatbed trailer and that was pretty cool....I knew the trailer was a tilting version but I didn't realize the tongue was also on a hydraulic ram. I wanted it in the back yard (I have a walk-out basement). He backed down in and got it angled pretty close (but in my mind still quite a bit away from where I wanted it). He gets out, starts the tilt and then hits another button and the whole carriage of the trailer (wheels too) starts moving backwards. Pretty slick. He was able to get it basically on the spot I wanted albeit at an angle from what I wanted the final resting place.

So yesterday a buddy came over and helped me move it. We basically had to turn it about 35 degrees in a clockwise manner from where it was dropped. We were going to go further but as I looked at it I realized it was aligned well with the house and also looked better from the street. So I stopped at that point. In my mind when planning it I had planned on pulling the front left corner (as you face it) back toward the trees and also pulling the right rear corner out toward the yard. But ultimately all I needed to do (once I decided that the angle looked good when we were about half way through the turn) was pull the left corner back. The pivot did bring the right rear a little bit forward and it ended up being fine.

Here's how it looks right now from the deck of my house.

In order to turn it I simply drilled some holes in the 4x4's that run under the shed and used the impact to drive some lag bolts in. These provided enough to get a logging chain on it and then run a come-along to a tree to pull it.

Once I had it turned where I wanted it the first step was to put up some shelves.

I am going to add a small 2' "loft" on either side....simply put a 2' 2x4 along the front and back, run a 12' 2x4 from front to back (I will include two more 2x4's out from the side wall to the 12', put some angle braces uner the two "free hanging" 2x4's, then put some plywood on top. It will make a good "storage shelf" for camping totes, beach chairs etc. that we use during the year but I want out of the way when not being used.

I have a temp home for the generator and fuel until I get the old doghouse re-purposed.

The left hand side will have a 2' bench from front to back. This will be the "work" area. I will have space for tools underneath, my grinder, drill press, etc.

I'm going to run "temporary" power on a plug to the shed. In the shed I will put several outlets as well as lights (looking at LED shop lights). Outlets will run the tools, I figure I can get a small ceramic heater in there as well. (all this will only be after the gas is "relocated" out of the shed. :o).

Okay... so yesterday my blood went to full boil when I saw this story....but we have even more info now and more reason to despise this BLEEP (Doing my best here not to say what I REALLY want to and keep this a family friendly forum...but it's trying with something like this).

So here's what we know.....

Ivanka and her husband and kids (along with a bunch of cousins) were on a Jet Blue flight out of JFK in NY.

Some angry gay couple who still have their panties in a bunch about the election saw them and the "man" in the relationship (????) decides that he should take it upon himself to harass her. And he does it holding a child in his arms.

God would have to be very very patient with me if I was on that plane. I am guessing I would be in cuffs and probably have been charged with a hate crime against a "protected class" if I witnessed this.

That this BLEEP'S "wife" tweeted out that "hubby" saw them and was going to harass her and then deleted it shows the courage of their convictions.

Why the left thinks this BS is acceptable is beyond me.

I really wish the NY version of child services would investigate these "parents".

I get that snowflakes are all feeling butt hurt but get over it and leave Trump's family out of this. Can you imagine if this had been a conservative going after Chelsea's Clinton or one of Obama's kids? That person would be thrown under the jail. Gawd this BLEEP BLEEPS me off!!

Now if I know next to nothing on solar I Truly know nothing on wind power. But heck...a little google fu and I can be a dangburnexpert! Well..mebbe not a expert :o.. but prob no less dumb than the idgits in DC passing laws spending our money giving tax credits to people who put up green energy stuff. But I digress. 8)

But I've been somewhat aware of various wind powered turbines for a while now (actually since the 1980's when the local power company put a big windmill outside their HQ to show they weren't only interested in burning coal and oil to make electricity. My Dad (who worked for them) let me know the windmill didn't even generate enough electricity to power the light that lit it up at night....it was just a total PR move ::) ) I also recently (in my work) looked at a vertical access version that was kind of interesting, but it hasn't gone anywhere either as their manufacturing costs are still too high. But I have seen quite a few designs over the years.

So again, I know enough to be dangerous. But I thought I would at least throw down some ideas of what I know (or think I know) as I do think there may be some merits in certain situations for their use. Especially in the east where solar may not provide the same output as out west. Ultimately I don't think anyone should look at these in a grid tied system as a way to save money, I just think the payback is way too long. But for an off-grid scenario they may make some sense, again, if solar is not as good an option.

The other benefit of wind is that it can operate at night when solar can't. So in theory someone who had reliable winds to grab could get away with a somewhat smaller battery bank and solar array if they could get some re-charging done overnight or on cloudy days when their pure solar system wouldn't be helping. Is it enough to warrant the cost? I don't know....everyone's situation will be different, but it is a plus in my mind (the night time thing).

I welcome any disagreement or thoughts based on others knowledge and/or experience. I am posting this not because I think I know everything but really to stimulate discussion and see if others have other thoughts or ideas. But here's what I have:

1. Off grid systems seem mostly designed in the 1kw or so range and put out power in 12-48 volts for charging batteries. The windmill can be alone with batteries or presumably hooked into the same system as solar panels that connect to the batteries but I am not the guy to ask how that is done! The power from the batteries (regardless of solar or wind generated) is then run through an inverter to power 120 v items.

2. Towers: Windmills need to be up above the trees to catch the majority of the wind and operate efficiently. To minimize turbulence it should be at least 30' above the trees, ground or whatever. Not only does the turbulence decrease the efficiency of the turbine it "tears them up" (that's a technical term us wind experts use at conferences but I thought I would share it with you ;) ) and they wont last as long. The downside to this in my mind (in a SHTF situation or in a place where you just don't want to draw attention to yourself) is that everyone knows you are there if they can see a windmill.

One other thing to consider is to have a tilting tower as opposed to a stationary one (which for the most part off-grid versions are this type as the turbines are smaller). This way you can lower the turbine to the ground to work on it as opposed to having to be on the top of a swaying 100' pole trying to do work ("Hey I dropped my wrench!" :o I'll pass thanks!) This might be a benefit in a SHTF situation as you could theoretically raise the windmill pole only at night if you were really trying to be "invisible".

2. TURBINE TYPES A. Horizontal axis: These are typical windmill turbines that have a propeller like device attached to a horizontally positioned rotating shaft. These turbines seem to provide better performance efficiency than vertical axis units because the blades are always being pushed by the wind. Some efficiency is lost if you are in an area where the wind changes directions a lot requiring the head of the turbine to turn to be oriented to the wind. But in an area where winds are predominantly from one direction (which I would think would be most off grid scenarios) this shouldn't be an issue. The other thing about these types is the blades typically spin pretty fast and can be a bit noisy. Whether its enough to cause a problem will depend on where you have it obviously. With some of the big ones the turbulence can cause some people to get nauseous also, kind of like the cavitation when you have one rear window down in your car. I don't know if smaller units have this issue but I know a very large about 10 miles from me has caused a lot of problems with neighbors. For large ones also bird kills are an issue but I don't know if that exists with the smaller ones.

B. Vertical Axis turbines. With these types of turbines the blade (or blades depending on the model) are standing vertically and rotate around a vertical shaft. There are a couple of different types of these- some are like a barrel cut in half then welded together so offsetting "sides" that "catch" the wind. Some are more open designs with three of four thin curved blades attached at the top and bottom. Lastly some look like a sail in a cylinder. These lose some efficiency versus horizontal turbines because the "blade" has to turn back against the direction of the wind to get to where the wind "pushes" it again. They all seem to have some alternative shape designs for the "blades" to minimize the friction on the "back stroke" but it still has an effect which reduces efficiency. However they appear to operate in lower windspeeds than traditional horizontal units but I am not sure if that is exclusive to larger ones. They also seem to rotate more slowly so they don't kill birds. I have seen some designs like this that are being contemplated to mount horizontally on the tops of buildings to catch air currents coming up the building face but I have never seen this actually done- but my point is there doesn't seem to be anything unique about the vertical axis- they just want the turbine perpendicular to the wind current.

The costs seem to vary pretty widely with small versions that are used on sailboats to top off batteries costing a few hundred up to larger home based units costing a thousand/few thousand or more- as with anything its all about the wattage it puts out. Keep in mind this is just the turbine and not the other electronics or the tower.

Love to hear what others think about this and success (or failure) stories we might learn from.

So I'm a fan of alternative energy ideas not because I am a global warming guy (I'm not....in any way! ::) But that's a subject for another day....er thread). But I AM a fan of finding ways to use the sun as a heat source if we can do so in a way that makes sense. This would work in any SHTF scenario and would save money right now which is also a really good thing.

So sort of like the solar collector in Don's post, this is a similar sort of idea albeit one that a friend of mine did. I mention it as it may stimulate some thoughts or ideas. This was done by a friend of mine in CO where he has the advantage of 300 days of sunshine per year whereas in MA I am lucky to get 200. So this is clearly something that would work better in the west but I have to believe any help would be good and can save some cash.

His house is a typical two story modern kind of home (4 bedrooms I think) in the suburbs of Denver. He bought the lot and "designed" the house himself (I put that in quotes as he's not an architect but had one do the plans for what he wanted). The long back side of the house faces south so he gets sun all day on the back side. Along the back side (inside the house) is his kitchen and a small room probably 10 x 10 or so (I'll call this the "solar room").

The solar room has sliding glass doors for one whole wall to the outside of the house. It also has sliding glass doors into the rest of the house (to the kitchen). The floor of the room is a very dark colored tile, almost black, and the walls are dark also. But nothing unique about the materials, just dark. The room also has a reflective sliding set of vertical blinds to the outside slider that can be opened or closed.

The ceiling of the "solar room" is 2x6 boards which are also the floor of the room above the solar room. And the boards have 1/2" or 3/4" gaps in them allowing the heat to rise into the upstairs of the house. The floor plan is pretty open - the kitchen extends (away from the solar room) into the dining area and then around to the front of the house to the family room. There is a wall between the family room to the kitchen but the open dining area connects them.

The second floor has a balcony looking down into the family room, and all the bedrooms are off the hall that runs the length of the second floor.

I hope you can picture that but ultimately why this works is the openness of the floorplan. So the sun heats the solar room and the heat rises up through the floorboards on its own. As this air rises it pulls colder air from the kitchen, which pulls it from the dining area, which pulls it from the family room, which pulls it from the 2nd floor. He has some small fans on the ceiling upstairs which circulate the warm air into the bedrooms.

By adjusting the reflective shade to the outside they can allow more or less sun in which regulates the temp rise in the solar room. Also by adjusting the slider into the kitchen they can also adjust the airflow as well.

When he explained it to me I asked him how efficient it is and he said he uses about a third of the oil in the winter that his neighbors with similarly sized houses do. So its a pretty serious cost savings all because he designed a floor plan to get airflow and a little room that acts as a solar collector. As I said this works best in places where there is tons of sun but I have to think this would have merit in other places as well.

There are lots of ways to do this. I have also seen drawings of barns that have a large glass wall on one side along with a shade that can be drawn down in the summer. Most barns don't need a lot of heat as the animals do a decent job on their own but in some areas it makes sense.

Also some will have windows on the first floor and an overhanging roof from the second floor that extends out a certain distance. This will shade the windows in the summer when the sun is higher in the sky but in the winter with the sun lower then the windows "collect" the suns rays and thus the heat.

If anyone else has ideas on this or has seen something like this used please feel free to comment. I love learning about alternatives that can save some money and also would still work in a SHTF scenario.

I had seen some of this before but figured it was worth a post. I wonder if Trump's election will cause them to act sooner rather than later. On the plus side I'm betting Trump will not use the same "rules of engagement" idiotic Obama did.

An old soldier walked up to the gate at the White House. The Secret Service Agent greeted him and said "What can I do for you?"

The old soldier said "I would like to see President Hillary Clinton."

The SS Agent said "Sir, Hillary didn't win the election and is not the President. She's also not the first lady any more, she doesn't live here."

The old soldier turned and walked away

The next day the soldier walked up to the gate and the same SS Agent was there. The soldier said "I would like to see President Hillary Clinton."

The SS officer said "Sir, Hillary didn't win the election and is not the President. She's also not the first lady any more, she doesn't live here."

The old soldier turned and walked away

The third day the soldier walked up to the gate and said to the same SS Agent "I would like to see President Hillary Clinton".

The SS Agent said, "Sir, this is the third day in a row you have walked up to me asking to see President Hillary Clinton. I have already told you she didn't win the election and she's not the First Lady anymore and she doesn't live here."

The soldier looked at him and said, "I know.....I just LOVE hearing you say it!"

The stock market is having a pretty good day today on the heels of the Comey retraction of the investigation of Hillary. I wanted to throw out a couple of comments on that from my perspective. I don't claim to be a genius and I welcome other thoughts on the subject but this is how I see it.

After Comey's letter 10 days ago that said they were "re-opening" the FBI investigation into Hillary's illegal activities the market trended down losing about 2% in that time period. With the "new" letter last night the market is back up the 2% to where it was just before the letter announcing the "re-opening" of the investigation. So this is not a huge rally saying the economy will be better off with Hillary in my mind. It's a "reset" to where we were before. That's the first part.

But lets talk about why the markets go up or down anyway on information like this- ultimately we don't know who will win the election but the polls all point to Hillary. Markets move to things that they can factor in. But when there is uncertainty, the markets will get out of the way (ie sell off) until the "uncertain" becomes "known".

We see it all the time with companies and their warnings about future sales and earnings. A company will have great earnings but also say that the next quarter or year or something will be challenging and "guide" analysts to lower expectations. The stock will sell off as the future at that point is unknown. It doesn't change the fact that they just had good earnings, but the future now suddenly looks "less bright" so Wall Street reacts very quickly.

Other times you see a company come out with blow out sales and earnings and the stock trades off anyway. That is because while the formal guidance was for $X per share in earnings the street actually was pricing in $X+Y for earnings and if the company doesn't hit X+Y its seen as a disappointment. So the earnings are right where the company thought they would be but the Street got overeager for some reason and when that optimism wasn't borne out the Street sold off the company.

As relates to the election the Street feels Hillary is a known entity. They may or may not like what she has done, what she represents or anything else. But she is a known item and won't look to change too many things from where they were under Obama (hence the 3rd Obama term discussion). Trump is the ultimate wildcard. If he renegotiates NAFTA how does that change things for public companies and their share prices? If he brings coal back in a big way what does that do to the oil companies? If he gets rid of Obamacare what does that mean for insurance companies and drug companies? If he cuts taxes like he's talking about what does that mean for the bond market? All these things should ultimately be positive things for the US economy and US jobs (I think) but there is "uncertainty" with a capital "U". And when Wall Street is faced with uncertainty it heads for the door until the uncertainty passes.

Think back (for those of us with some grey hair) to the first Gulf War when Saddam invaded Kuwait. The market had been on a roller coaster and had headed down as we headed toward the use of military force too remove Saddam from Kuwait. Jim Baker had been sent to try to negotiate a removal of Saddam from Kuwait and I remember his press conference afterwards so clearly....when he started speaking the market virtually stopped trading....everyone was watching....he talked about what they had wanted to do (to get Saddam to leave)....then he said the word "unfortunately...." and proceeded to explain why the negotiations failed. The SECOND he said "unfortunately" the market traded off and fell big time. Uncertainty was now heading to certainty but it was a shooting war which had its own "uncertainty".

When the buildup of forces occurred the market was trending lower. There was uncertainty about whether Saddam would use chemical weapons, would stealth technology work, etc etc. The market traded off Monday through Thursday of that last week and then Thursday night the shooting started. (That was the night Bernie Shaw was under a desk in his hotel reporting that the shooting had started). Overseas markets traded off quickly but by the time the US markets opened the next morning the market traded up big. The "uncertainty" over what would happen in the war (would we succeed, would the stealth technology work etc.) had dissipated pretty quickly.

Sorry for the long winded comments but I want what Trump will do for the US for so many reasons. But while it might seem Wall Street "wants" Hillary the reality is Wall Street "wants" certainty. And until they see it they tend to head for the exits which drives down prices, even if what they are "running away from" is a good thing for us long term. YMMV.....

So I'm not nearly the firearms expert so many of you are and I need some guidance. I'm looking for a EDC weapon and a friend has recommended a G30 (a few have). I like .45, I'm a reasonably big guy so concealment is not too difficult. I've read what folks here have posted about Glock's in general (and elsewhere) but want to get some specific advice on this model for this purpose.

So a few years ago we had a nice big blizzard that hit the NE. I was heading for a business trip to SF when we lost power at 2AM. I called the power company and they said it would be back on in an hour or two so said good....left a note for the wife and I left. (yeah....you know what's coming.... ::)) Um....they lied. Power was not on for the entire 5 days I was on the west coast. The wife was not to *bleeping* happy with that one. The kids loved it....they all moved into the FR and my son kept the fires burning all day every day (it was February after all) to stay warm.

But since then I knew I needed to get a backup generator for the place. I just haven't been able to of yet. But I am now looking at them and here's my question(s)- I've looked at my electric bill and the "high water" mark over the past few years for usage was 2044 kWh for a month. That was a 32 day month (didn't know we had those didja! ??? ya me either....) So that gave me an average of 2.66 kWh....a lot of what I have read suggests adding 5 to that # as the "avg" doesn't tell the "peak use" #. Okay so now I'm at 7.66.

I have looked at Generac standby units and can get an 8kw Standby unit for $2400 but that has a 50 amp pre-wired transfer switch. If I go with the 11kw Standby it comes with a 200 amp transfer switch. Both of these run on LP which works as I am switching my stove from elec to LP and will have a tank put in anyhoo.

But as an alternative to this I can also get a portable generator that has 12.5K surge and 10K rated gas powered unit for $2100. With that I would need to buy my own transfer switch ($460), plug in box ($100) and I am guessing a higher electrician bill to wire it all versus the pre-wired unit that comes with the standby generator.

I am confused about one thing with the portable unit if I was going to use it to run the whole house- the outputs on the side of the generator are 4- 20A 120 plugs, 2- 30A 120 plugs and 1- 50A 120/240. But is the 50A 120/240 enough if I am running a house? I get that 240 volts x 50 Amps = 12,000 watts so in theory it is. But if my service panel is 100 Amp (or 200?) is that just bc home service panels are always oversized? Or do I need a way to transfer 100 Amps in which case the outlet may not be large enough?

On the one hand I like the idea of the portable one as I could use it anywhere for a variety of purposes - but at 350 lbs this is not as "portable" as some and its not like I have a tremendous need for a portable one now anyway so may be overkill. At the same time its gas versus LP, would require me to be there to get it going and throw the switch to isolate the house.

The true standby units self test 1x per month and automatically isolate the house and fire up when needed.

Just curious what you guys would do or think. I'm definitely having this installed by an electrician so no worries I will kill myself, burn down my house or backload the grid....or all of the above at once. :o

ETA- These prices are at Northern Tool....I use them for comparison purposes here but haven't shopped around as of yet....

Didn't really know where to post this story link....is it about a vehicle (deuce and a half)...is it what things he used in a shtf scenario? Is it what to watch out for?

I guess all of the above....so I thought it fit under "knowledge"....but feel free to move it if there's a better place. It's a story about one guys journey to help a friend and more during Katrina. Interesting read with just what you would expect from the good in people and the bad.

I have had a Maxpedition Versipack for a number of years now. Great for day hikes with the family. Especially in places where I don't necessarily want to open carry. I have loaded it up with stuff and it rides comfortably and after 10? Years is still like new. Can't recommend it enough.

So I've been checking out their larger packs over the past few months. Going back and forth on which one I wanted for a new BOB which I need (um....well okay..."want" but you know how that goes!)

They are having a closeout on a bunch of stuff. I grabbed the gyrfalcon for $130. I almost went for the Falcon III but when I saw the sale price on the gyrfalcon ($2 more than the sale px on the falcon iii I grabbed it).

Wow what a great movie (alarming and scary as heck but great! :o ). Dinesh D'Souza does a really great job. And so much of the footage is almost real time with current events. The theater was about 1/4 to 1/3 full which for here in MA is probably pretty good.

I think what was most powerful was the lengths at which he went to show that it has been the Dems all along who were the racists and how they have lied to change their message to claim they were in favor of civil rights etc. Very interesting stuff. I definitely recommend it.